Thursday, 12 September 2013

Here’s a secret about story structure that
you may not have realized: You already
know it.

Many authors are intimidated by the mere
thought of structure. As if writing isn’t already enough of a juggling act, now
we’re expected to also make certain our plot fits into some nebulous framework.
It can be daunting, to say the least.

But here’s the great thing about structure:
it’s neither nebulous nor difficult to learn.

If we view structure through the
lens of the classic three-act approach, we can break it down into ten easy
steps (which I discuss in depth in my book Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to
Writing an Outstanding Story). Once you get a handle on these steps,
they’re easy to understand, easy to work with, and they allow us to
purposefully mold our stories into their optimal shapes.

That’s the solidity of structure.

But what about this supposed simplicity?

Learning
structure easily

Let’s make a little friendly wager. I’m
going to bet you that, even if you’ve yet to learn anything about story
structure, you’re probably already writing stories that adhere to it.

Say what?

That’s what I said too. I dismissed the
whole notion of structure as a lot of hooey until one day I realized I was
instinctively structuring all of my stories.

That’s right: instinctively.

Story structure is hardwired into the human
brain. Most of us intuitively understand what makes a good story: the hook in
the beginning, the rise and fall of action, the importance of major plot
points, and the gallop to the climax. We’ve been learning structure all our
lives. From that first board book Mom and Dad read us at bedtime to our
Saturday morning cartoons and right on through every novel we’ve read and every
movie or TV show we’ve watched—we’ve been learning story structure via osmosis
all our lives.

Not only are we learning structure without
even trying, we’ve been learning it without even knowing it. How cool is that?

Learning
structure purposefully

But we can (and should) take this several
steps further. In order to maximize this inherent understanding of story—and to
make our wrangling with those first drafts about a thousand times easier—we
need to quantify our instinctive knowledge.

Once I started studying structure, learning
its ins and outs, and solidifying in my conscious brain what my subconscious
already knew, my writing process was revolutionized. Suddenly, I understood why
certain things worked and others didn’t. I was able to look at plot problems
and immediately see the solution,
instead of just trying to feel my way to a workable answer.

Our subconscious brains are powerful. But until
we understand how to use that power, we will often have a difficult time
harnessing it.

Learning
structure organically

Once we have an understanding of the basic
parts of story structure, we get to jump right back into the “not even trying”
stage of our learning. Read books. Watch movies.

Tough assignment, right?

But don’t just read and watch. Instead, read and watch with purpose. Pay
attention to how other authors play out the aspects of structure in their own
stories. Try to get a sense of the timing. Watch for the way the characters’
arcs shift around the plot points within the structure.

Re-read and re-watch some of your old
favorites. Since you’re already familiar with how these stories play out, you
can gain an even better perspective of their structure as you anticipate plot
points yet to come.

The only rule of good storytelling is write a story that works. When we study
the stories that work for us, we deepen our already innate understanding of
story structure. The deeper that understanding, the more likely we are to write
that power into our own books.

Indeed--as Alex Cavanaugh wrote, "Who knew?" This is great info for anyone who says "I could never write a book--I wouldn't know where to begin." It's all in there; we just need to have the confidence to access it.

It's very true. Although some people may have more natural inclinations for writing than others, writing a book is a very learnable accomplishment. Just wanting to write a book is the first and most important qualification.

So much of life, not just writing, is about harmonizing intuition with logic. Once we can bring our logical mind into an understanding of what's going on subconsciously, a lot of things make more sense.

I read KM's newsletters and she always has great advice. I'll be buying this book for sure. Structure is so basic, yet it's something new novelists never realize they need. I know I didn't. Now I figure out the structure before I even start writing and it's a huge help.

Its nice to know that story structure comes to us instinctively. Though for my current book its just not happening. I follow the 3 Act structure and have certain plot points in place which help me get the entire story spread out before me.

@Rachna: Yes, sometimes things just don't quite fall in place the way we'd like them to. Often, I have to credit this to our conscious brains getting in the way and trying to finagle stories into a direction they should never really go.

@Pk - I'd recommend anyone looking to improve their writing to check out Katie's website. Lots of great advice.

@Matthew - good to know others agree.

@Rachna - I find with stories that aren't quite working i have to keep plugging away and at some point it all seems to come together and make sense. And usually the answer was there all the time, just couldn't see it.